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rehab

American  
[ree-hab] / ˈriˌhæb /

noun

  • rehabs
    plural
  1. rehabilitation, especially a program or facility for treating persons addicted to drugs or alcohol or recovering from certain medical conditions.

    He's been sober since coming out of rehab.

    She checked into rehab after suffering a stroke.

  2. a rehabilitated building.


adjective

  1. of or relating to rehabilitation.

    funds for new rehab projects in the city.

verb (used with object)

rehabbed, rehabbing
  1. to rehabilitate.

rehab British  
/ ˈriːhæb /

noun

  1. short for rehabilitation

  2. treatment for drink or drug addiction

  3. informal short for Rehabilitation Department

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of rehab

By shortening

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

For decades, Baltimore owed the intractability of its vacant housing crisis to simple economics: It cost more to rehab a vacant home than that renovated home could be sold for.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 17, 2026

“I don’t know if it’s just, you want to be perfect, you’re trying to get your feet under you, you’ve been in rehab mode a lot,” Roberts said.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 9, 2026

He hopes to begin a minor-league rehab assignment around the end of the month or beginning of September.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 8, 2026

After months of hospitalization and rehab, Reile slid into a deep depression.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 2, 2026

She had seen pictures of the rehab place online.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

Over the course of my training, I’ve learned that evidence-based medical treatments are often not found within rehabs across the country.

From Slate Dec. 19, 2025

In response, they are more selective in the projects they choose, focusing on lighter rehabs and faster turnarounds.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 10, 2025

Catchers Sofia Mujica and Maggie Daniel will split duties behind the plate while Alexis Ramirez rehabs from a torn ACL.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 14, 2025

“Samples from small mammals are rolling in now and things at the wildlife rehabs pick up substantially in spring,” he says.

From Science Magazine Apr. 29, 2024

I wondered if she was the right person for the job: she seemed awfully enamored of the rehabs that Debra and her crew had performed.

From Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow

She and her family bought and moved into a vacant home rehabbed by nonprofit developer Parity Homes.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 17, 2026

Many of the men being rehabbed by the right, though, don’t meet this standard.

From Slate Jun. 30, 2025

Dobbins suffered the injury the same week as New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who then became a partner as the pair rehabbed together during the season.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 11, 2024

In one sequence, marine biologists lovingly restore a rehabbed coral polyp to a reef.

From New York Times Apr. 21, 2024

The city built a new prison, moved the inmates into their new quarters, then rehabbed the old prison and turned it into a high school.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

Dodger utility man Kiké Hernandez said he wasn’t going, either, explaining that he was busy rehabbing an injury.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 24, 2026

Carlos Alcaraz will not defend his French Open title because of a wrist injury, while world number seven Taylor Fritz has been resting and rehabbing a long-term knee problem since March.

From BBC May 6, 2026

That’s a frightening thing, considering Paramount has already announced plans to continue rehabbing disgraced “Melania” director Brett Ratner’s career with a new “Rush Hour” film.

From Salon Mar. 6, 2026

Marquez spent the winter rehabbing from his latest injury and he admitted that he was not quite back to full fitness in Malaysia.

From Barron's Feb. 25, 2026

It was a temporary gig, and after five months he moved on to rehabbing homes in the city—another temporary job.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

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